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A system that stores a large quantity of coolant in a small space could eliminate the huge battery drain imposed by heating and cooling in electric cars. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describes the new technology as a kind of thermal battery that takes advantage of evaporative cooling, tapping the car's batteries only to run a small pump and fan.

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An air-conditioning system for cars that uses the car's exhaust heat instead of a compressor and a salt mixture in place of CFC gases holds the potential to improve mileage while also offering better cooling, according to this article. The low-cost system, developed by Nirmit Sanchapara, an engineering student at the C.S. Patel Institute of Technology at India's Charusat University, is being submitted for patent review.

Nano-structured batteries and super capacitors may become part of a car's body panels, combining form and function and eliminating the heavy blocks of batteries that power today's electric cars, writes Jim Gorzelany. Volvo is working on the technology as part of a European Union research project.

Two engineering career paths, in biomedicine and software, rank No. 2 and 3 in the U.S., according to the 2013 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report. Only actuary, with low stress and high pay, is rated more favorably.

Innovative technology applied to cool supercomputers is the subject of research by IBM and Swiss partners for low-cost generation of solar energy. The key is using parabolic dishes to concentrate sunlight on solar cells while circulating water in pipes slightly elevated from the cells to carry away heat that can be put to use in such applications as absorption cooling or desalinating water.

The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition led by the University of Texas at Austin is working to develop the country's first "open smart manufacturing technology platform." Its goal is to produce energy savings by integrating performance metrics and models with real-time plant energy data. The project is one of five that received millions of dollars in Energy Department grants.